Metro needs to think apps and GPS

Embracing modern technology could put Metro's bus operation way down the road.

Copyright 2013: Houston Chronicle |
March 29, 2013

It is easy to complain about Metro - fun, too. It spends too much money. Or not enough. The light rail is on grade and doesn't go anywhere. There isn't any commuter rail. Mass transit simply won't work for our 21st century sprawlopolis.

But these complaints probably aren't from one of Metro's 200,000 daily local bus boardings.

Problems with regular bus routes don't hinge on budget issues or grade crossings, but simple matters of usability. Talk to folks who actually try to ride Metro local buses on a regular basis and you get a completely different set of complaints: Bus routes don't make sense and don't run at convenient times. Buses are often late, or early, with no explanation. And they regularly skip stops. In contrast to Park and Ride, local buses are all too often just "Stand and Wait."

Metro board member Christof Spieler stepped down from the clouds of policy and into the weeds of actual ridership with his op-ed "Reinventing mass transit" (Page B8, Sunday), a step that would be impressive if it weren't absolutely necessary, given Metro's mandatory focus on buses after November's referendum vote. Metro riders - and those who want better mass transit - should be throwing their Q Cards in the air to celebrate Spieler's promise of a total transit restructuring, with bus routes that go to the right places and are easier to understand. Given his apparent grasp of riders' problems, it should be no surprise that Spieler is one of the few board members who actually uses Metro in his daily commute.

What is surprising is the lack of technology mentioned anywhere in Spieler's piece. Metro needs to rethink its transit network, but it also needs to rethink its information network.

Smartphone apps and real-time GPS tracking are increasingly key aspects of urban transit systems. In a city like Houston, with unpredictable weather, confusing routes and long gaps between buses, it seems we would have the most to gain from these tools. Yet Metro's app is practically unusable, and promises of GPS tracking go unfulfilled.

It isn't hard to imagine a Metro system where folks can wait in an air-conditioned coffee shop until their smartphones buzz with the announcement of an approaching bus, rather than have to stand on the hot sidewalk and stare longingly down the street.

Or for those without smartphones, a service could let riders text a stop number and bus route to learn how far away the bus is. Or screens at bus stops could let people know how long they have to wait - a current mystery for many Metro riders.

Metro is already part-way there - buses have been equipped with GPS trackers since 2005. They just don't pipe out the info to consumers.

If the goal is to make Metro easier to ride, then the first step should be back to basics of showing Houstonians where their buses are, when they arrive and where they're going.

We think that GPS tracking is the best way to accomplish these goals. But so far that promise is like all too many Metro buses: empty.